A New Life
by thisonethingwithicecubes
Summary: Beckett finally admitted her love for Castle. How is this story developed?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

There she was, all surrendered; to herself - To him. She was sitting at her desk staring at him, contemplating the depths of his thoughts while he was concentrated in the murder board, searching for something that could light up their way to find the killer. She cared about the victim's family, but there was something holding her. As much as she tried she just couldn't stop looking at him and she was thinking "Damn, I hope he's not noticing, I should go back to the case".

Castle turned and looked at her to tell her something. She cleared her throat and blinked fast a few times changing her gaze to the murder board, hoping he didn't notice where she was putting her attention on.

"I guess we should get some rest, clear our minds. This should help us to analyze the case better and who knows what we can end up finding out…" – Rick said.

"You're right. Let's go home and tomorrow we search for more. I'm very tired anyway."

He couldn't stop replaying the scene that took place just a few minutes back. He felt she was staring at him, and he was happy to feel it. He was tired of holding back his feelings but the fear of ripping off that façade to change the level of their relationship was too much risky when he knew she was fighting her uncertainties inside of her. Kate looked at him, and for a moment they were both staring at each other extracting every single feeling they could from each other's eyes.

Ryan and Esposito got in the room, arguing about the interview they had just done, breaking the magic bond that was tying Rick and Kate.

"Hey guys, Castle and I decided to go home, get some rest, and maybe we can find something new tomorrow, so if you got anything from the interview put on the board and we can discuss it tomorrow, unless it's something that could take us really far if we dig today…" – Kate said.

"We got something, but it can wait". Ryan said and turned to Esposito. "I got it, Espo I'll write it down on the board and go home. I have to pick up Jenny at her mother's and I still have some minutes…_" _– said Ryan.

Kate had gone to work that day on foot. She was in the mood for walking. But after the day she'd had, she asked Rick for a lift. When they got outside her house, Castle said:

"Kate, I know it's late and you're tired, but I was hoping I could invite you to have dinner with me and my mom. Alexis is going to spend the night at a friend's house and my mother is cooking the dinner, so since it's going to be just the two of us, maybe you'd like to join us…"

"Yeah I'm tired Rick, maybe we can leave it to another day, okay?"

Why? She thought. Why did she say no? Was that fear? Was it awkward? None. Then what the hell was that about?

"Ok, another day then", he said, with a little bit of disappointment. "See you tomorrow."

"Night."

He was driving back home and didn't know exactly what to think in that moment. First he felt that was insane inviting her to come over, but then he thought: "What's the big deal? My mother is gonna be there, nothing would happen, sometimes dinner it's just a dinner". He decided he should stop thinking about it for a while, it was consuming him. He turned the radio on to enjoy some songs and try to think of something else.

Kate slowly got in her apartment; she was lost in her thoughts. She put her coat on the couch and sat. She regretted not accepting his dinner invitation. She was in love with him. She knew that. But she was too stubborn to admit it. She feared that she could hurt him in a way that wouldn't have a return, because her determination in solving her mother's murder maybe could imply not giving him the attention he deserved and that was bothering her. Yet, without thinking, she took her jacket and grabbed the car keys. She called Rick, to warn him she was going to his house, but with the songs playing in the car he couldn't listen to his phone. "Anyway", she thought. "I'll go". In her way, she stopped at a market and bought a wine, she didn't want to get there with empty hands, especially after she was rude with him when she rejected his invitation.

Castle got home and found the dinner ready, though his mother wasn't there. There was a note in the fridge that said:

"Kiddo, a friend of mine called, he wanted to talk… I needed some "attention", well you know. Mommy loves you. Eat your dinner."

Rick put the plate on table and was ready to eat when he heard a knock. When he opened the door, there was Kate with a bottle of wine in her hands. He noticed the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled at him and that made him think if his eyes were sparkling too. He would never know. They stood there for a while.

"Kate! You're here. That's great."

"Yeah, I'm here... Listen, I'm sorry for dumping you like that, I should have accepted your invitation, and I don't know what I was thinking…"

He smiled again and his smile made her stop in the middle of her sentence. He took a little distance and extended his hand, indicating for her to enter.

"It's just dinner_"_, he said and then pause, turning into an "ops" face – "Although…"

"Although what?"

"Well, my mother is not here. We were supposed to have dinner together but it looks like she had other things to do. She cooked the dinner and left a note that's over there…" - He replied with a bit of desperation thinking that she might wanna go home now that they were alone.

She swallowed dry and got a little embarrassed. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? They were all alone in his loft, about to have dinner. But then she thought "Well, I'll just have this dinner and leave. I won't be so easy, if he tries anything I'll just back off. It won't be that hard".

Rick was struggling against himself not to show any indication that he was begging inside of him for her to stay. "Was it a sign from the universe?" he thought. They were alone and that was his chance of opening up to her. Only it was that easy. He was still afraid she could run away. He had worked really hard to break that wall. Was it worth to try something and maybe find that the wall was still there? He wasn't sure. She was more accessible, yeah, but that didn't mean anything, she could be avoiding the pain she's feeling. "Damn", he thought. "What do I do?"

They sat on the table to eat. She filled their cups with wine. He put a classic soft song, and also put some different lights in the room, to make it more comfortable, since it was a very weird day. The weather wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. Felt like doubt. And "doubt" was not something that was missing for those two. They had lots of doubts, not about what they were feeling for each other, but for how they should deal with it. They've been in relationships before, but somehow this was different for them. It was something they never saw before. They felt this urge feeling consuming them little by little and it just wouldn't go away that easily. They didn't know what to expect. This passion, this constantly need of being with each other was incredible and unmeasured. But they were holding it back, like they were fighting it. And they didn't even know why.

They finished the dinner and sat back at his couch and started to chat about random things. The air was heavy. Rick looked at her admiring her face. Oh, her face; that beautiful face that caught him in a desperately way. His gaze was rolling down her body seeking for a gap to slip through and get to her heart. He was good at deciphering things and he was willing to try this with whatever she was holding inside her.

For a moment, Kate didn't know what to say. They had talked about all the random subjects and now there was nothing more to say. Her heart was pounding really fast and though it wasn't a hot day she was sweating, but at the same time she had this chills that she didn't know where was coming from.

"Well, it's late Kate. I'm sure you're still here just because you don't want to upset me. But I know you're tired… So if you want to go, you should, I'll be fine. I'm glad you came. And tha-"

He couldn't finish. She leaned forward to him, throwing her hands around his neck. She didn't think. She rushed herself as if there was no tomorrow and gave him a soft but deep kiss, where her tongue met his. She was gentle, but at the same time wild.

He was caught by surprise but didn't hesitate. Immediately he held her body with his both hands and pulled into his. They were breathless, exploring each other's forms. They didn't stop; they couldn't because they were spilling out 4 years of accumulated feelings, urgent feelings. He leaned himself back lying in the couch, allowing her to stand on top of him. He stopped kissing her and placed his hands on the buttons of her blouse. His gaze at her was like he was asking her the permission to unbutton it. He didn't want to do anything that she wouldn't like. The look on her face was like, "Do you really need to ask for permission?" and she ripped her blouse off making buttons fly over his living room. He rapidly finished taking her blouse off and threw it away. She did the same with his shirt.

She looked at the soft skin of his chest and gently caressed it, rolling her hands in his chest towards his face. She kissed his white skin until she reached his lips again. She stopped and he started kissing her neck and her ear with his hands around her, holding her back. She went to his pants, and undid his belt. He sat back on the couch and helped her to take his pants and her pants off. When he was about to lie down again, she held him and said: "Not here."

He took her in his arms, carrying her to his bedroom. He couldn't take his eyes of her. On their way to the bedroom, she gave him a tender kiss and whispered: "Oh Rick… I love you so much."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

When they got to his bedroom, he started kissing her deeply. The urgency was making it more special and giving life for their passion. She was holding all the joy of her life for the right guy and Rick was the one. She started to think that she'd never felt that way before. She had been with a few guys and none of them had ever made her feel like there were no insecurities, like there was no world around her. She was lost in Rick's world and all she wanted was to _never_ find her way out of there. And Rick wasn't even thinking. Everything he wanted was right there with him. He gave himself to her, he surrendered.

"Hey" – She said with a smile.

"Hey" – He whispered.

She slowly got closer to his face.

"Castle, I'm sorry. I made you go through hell during 4 years and you never pushed me away, or pressured me to do anything, to move forward or not. I wanted you to know that was never my intention to hurt you". – Kate said. Then in a hurry she opened up – "I was so focused in other things that I lost track of what was really important in life. When I didn't accept your invitation to come over here tonight I could see in your eyes that I was losing you, but I was scared because how can I lose something that wasn't even mine? And it's not your faul—".

He gently put his finger in her lips, asking her to stop talking.

"Kate, I was yours since the first moment that I saw you. I won't lie I held back a lot of stuff during these years, but the truth is I've never been so happy. I was "going through this hell" as you said, but I knew it would worth in the end. I don't know where are we going to be after this, all I know is that I want you to tell me what do you want, because everything I've ever wished for is right here, lying in this bed with me."

A tear trickled down her face. With his thumb, he wiped away her tear. He joined forces and the courage enough to do what he was about to do.

"Katherine Beckett, do you accept to be my girlfriend, I mean… Starting now."

"What do you think?" – She said and laughed.

"'What do you think' as in 'yes I want to be your girlfriend' or as in 'no, but I'll dump you carefully'?" – He asked.

"As in, yes Rick. I want to" – She replied and gave him a tender kiss.

Rick held Kate tight. And she felt the warmth of his body on hers; skin on skin. He whispered:

"I love you too, Kate". Then, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The dawn was rainy and cold, perfect for staying at home. When Kate opened her eyes and turned, reaching for the other side of the bed, she didn't find Rick. She checked the clock and it was marking 8 am. She was about to get up when she realized her clothes wasn't in the bedroom. She would have to cross the house to get to her clothes. She looked around and found a wardrobe and figured she could pick one of Rick's sweaters, and so she did.

Kate got to the kitchen and felt the warmth of the hot coffee spreading into the room. It was a cold day so it helped her to keep warm. But Rick wasn't at the kitchen either. She took a mug and started serving herself with hot coffee. She felt Rick behind her, putting his hands around her almost naked body. She smiled and he inhaled her essence. She turned her head and they kissed.

"Good morning, Detective"

"Good morning, Writer"

"Did you drink your coffee already?" – She asked.

"Are you kidding me? Of course not, coffee is our thing; I'd never do this without you." – He replied with a big smile on his face.

She didn't actually drink the coffee; she threw her arms around him. She was in the mood for another thing. And apparently so did him.

"I have to get back to work, but I think I have a few minutes more…" – She said.

"I have a feeling my partner isn't going to be at the Precinct right now, so I have a few minutes too..."

They held hands, intertwining their fingers and walked toward the bedroom.

Kate ran in front of him and with a big leap she landed in the bed. He softly got to her and they started kissing. When he took his sweater off her they heard a noise, but they were too busy to care about that. They heard a knock in the door. Rick frightened with the door knock and he fell of the bed, hitting his head in the nightstand.

"Rick? Are you ok?" – Kate whispered.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Let's just stay quiet. Whoever is outside will go away"

He went to bed again and they laid facing each other.

"Hey, would be weird to ask you to make this a secret? I mean, it's too soon to share this with anyone, it's just for now" – Kate asked.

"No, you're right. We work together and this could get you fired". He stopped. "Especially now when Captain Gates holds so much hate for me…" – He replied and laughed.

"She doesn't hate you Castle. Montgomery was different because he was like family for us. Captain Gates hasn't adjusted yet. She's kind of loud when it comes to work, she's right about taking the job seriously especially when our work is to put killers behind bars, but sometimes she's hard on people"

"Speaking of this… We should go to the Precinct" – Rick said.

"Yeah, I almost forgot. We have a killer to catch. Well, then I'll go home. I have a feeling my blouse became useless, I'll take a shower and get dressed there" – She said.

"Sure. Let's go"

Rick had already taken shower; he just had to put some clothes on. They left the bedroom. Rick was going to catch her blouse and the buttons around the house to throw away, and Kate was going to take her pants to put on, she had his sweater on so she didn't need anything else.

"Turns out we heard a knock in the wrong door, Castle. You have letters on the ground close to the front door. Whoever delivered didn't want to leave it in the mail box" – Kate said.

He went to catch the letters when the door opened.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

It was Martha. She was in a hurry so she entered in the house and went upstairs and didn't even notice Kate was there. Rick and Kate looked at each other, they were paralyzed with a "what the hell" face. Martha got back and left the apartment, she didn't say a word, so Rick figured she went there to catch something she needed and left.

They started laughing and he locked the door in case anyone else would enter there and find Rick and an almost naked Kate, both exhaling "morning after's" air. Kate put on her pants and said:

"You should go to the Precinct, I'll get home take a shower and I'll meet you there. If we get there together would be weird, so…"

"Ok"

She grabbed her car keys and walked through the door, but before she could leave, Rick held her arm and leaned to give her a kiss; then she left.

Kate spent her way back home replaying the most passionate night she had had in her life. With someone that she was sure that was the right one.

_-3 months later-_

Kate woke up in the morning; she went to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. She sat on the table, all sleepy. There was a calendar on the wall. She realized that in that day would complete 3 months since she was with Rick and all this time they managed to hide this from everybody.

It was a Monday, and as incredible as it could look like she only had to go to the Precinct to do paperwork, no murders at all. She got to the Precinct and there was Rick, sat in the chair right beside her desk, waiting for her with two cups of coffee. They smiled and looked around to see if anyone was watching, and they gently kissed each other, really fast. She sat on her desk and said:

"Well, no murder, just paperwork. Ready?"

Kate noticed that Rick was a little upset so she put her hand on his leg and asked if he was okay. He said he was, and he put his hand on top of hers.

"I didn't get much sleep last night. Alexis had an argument with her boyfriend and she was crying. I tried to calm her down but nothing worked. So we stayed awake, watching TV and eating…" – He said. "I'll be right back; I need to go to the bathroom…"

Rick went to the bathroom and Kate started with the paperwork, she knew what Alexis was going through so she thought about offering some help, like talk to her or something like that.

"Kate. You haven't changed a bit, beautiful as usual".

Kate couldn't believe.

"Paperwork? You never liked it. I remember when you use to run from paperwork leaving it for Ryan and Esposito and we would go out for a drink. Do you think I could have that same luck today?"- He completed with a smile.

How ironic he was. He was the one that hadn't changed a bit. He still looked like a motorcycle boy (as Castle would say).

"Hey… Josh. It's been a while. I'm sorry but I—"

"Josh" – Rick said, interrupting Kate.

"Hi Castle. If I'm not mistaken, you are the writer right?" – Josh asked.

"Yes, I'm the writer. What brings you here?" – Rick was feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm here for Kate" – Josh replied and turned to Kate, hoping she would take his side and walk away with him.

"Actually…" Kate said and got up, staying between them. "Josh, I think I'm not available". She said it while she held Rick's hand. "If you know what I mean"

"Oh, I see. You're… with him" – Josh was clearly out of orbit. "I'm impressed it took this long for you to admit your feelings for each other"

"Not that this is any of your concern" – Rick said.

"Yeah, it's not. Kate, it was nice to see you again" – Josh said and left.

Kate sat at her desk again.

"Shaken up?" – Rick asked.

"Not at all… I was just surprised he came back after all this time…"

"Yeah, of course he would. Now that we are together a lot of stuff is going to try to get in our way. It's how we manage to skip them that matters".

"Well said Writer" and she gently kissed him.

"Anyway, I was thinking. Maybe I can talk to Alexis, help her deal with this situation with her boyfriend".

He looked at her with a surprised face like he never thought about that.

"Yeah! You could. It would be so great for her, she looks up to you anyway_" _– He said.

"Does she?"

"Yes, she keeps on telling me how she thinks you're great and lovely. You've always given her good advices, but because of these 3 months that we are together you stayed away so she wouldn't find out about us…" He stopped, like he had something in mind. "Do you think she knows? I mean, about us?"

"How could I know Castle? I don't live with her… And I'm sure I didn't say anything…"

"I didn't tell her either. It's just… You see, she always talked about you saying how great you are, but these last few months she's doing it regularly… Looks like she's trying to tell me that she would approve if we get together someday…"

"I don't know Castle. Maybe she's just trying to be nice. Besides, we didn't give any sign that we are together…"

Kate turned and started her paperwork again.

"Detective. My office. Now".

Kate looked at Captain Gate's door and there she was. She got up and so did Rick.

"You stay Castle" she rapidly warned.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" – Kate entered the room.

"Detective, you know you are the best I have and you know I would never let anything get in the way of your performance. But I've noticed you and Castle are hiding something_"._

Kate swallowed dry and fixed her gaze on her Captain, expecting an angry Gates to show her frustration on having an internal romance inside the Twentieth.

_"_You know… I'm just guessing. Detective thing... Anyway, are you two investigating your mother's case again? Because if you are doing it behind my back you know I stick with the protocol".

Kate was relieved to know that Gates was talking about another thing and not the fact that she was dating one of her co-workers even if he wasn't really a cop.

"Yes Sir, I know you stand with the protocol and no, we are not investigating my mom's murder" – Kate answered.

"Great. Thank you"

Kate was leaving the room when Gates completed: "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Be aware to let you personal life outside my Precinct"

"Excuse me?"

"Cameras, Kate. Elevator's cameras"

Oh, the elevator. She knew she shouldn't have had that sneak preview of the romantic night they would have that day on the elevator. After that, she reconsidered what she had just said to Castle a couple of minutes ago, a thing about not giving any sign about their relationship to anyone. But the thing was: the only person that could not know knew. "Damn" she though, but now it's too late.

"Right, Sir. Cameras" – Kate was embarrassed. "Can I... Go…. Now…?"

Captain Gates gave her a "you are warned" look and she left her room. Kate sat at her desk, paralyzed.

"So?" – Rick asked.

"So? A disaster Rick... She knows". Kate put her hand on her head, she couldn't believe.

"She knows what?" – Rick innocently asked. Kate gave him a mad look.

"Ohhh, she knows!" – He said. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know Rick… You know, the day is boring, there's only paperwork, it's not urgent, so let's go home. We can work this out there"

She took her jacket and they both left the Precinct. They went straight to Kate's apartment. They sat at her couch and talked for hours.

"I think it's time for our friends to know about us" – Rick said.

"Yeah, I know. We hid for so long, I feel kind of guilty now"

"You're not guilty of anything, we did what we thought was right. We were not ready to show them, and they were not ready for us. But I think we gave enough time to figure what we want for us and I'm pretty sure we'll keep together".

Kate felt some urgency in his voice. Like he really wanted to tell everybody, but she soon turned away from that thought and said:

"I know Rick. In fact, I don't even know why we didn't say before; you think we should tell them now?"

He showed a mix of happiness and anxiety. Kate knew he was up to something, but didn't ask.

"It's time Kate".


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

They decided that Castle's family should know first, after all he had a daughter, and it could probably get a little difficult for her to accept and Kate was going to talk with Alexis after their revelation.

When Kate and Castle got to his loft, Martha and Alexis were apparently waiting for them.

"Mother, Alexis. Is everything ok?" – Rick asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Why?_"_ – Alexis replied.

"Because Kate and I have something to tell you"

"OK, bring it".

"Kate and I… Well, we are together now" – Rick was excited and curious.

"Yeah, and we wanted you two to know first" – Kate said.

"Oh my God! That's great!" – Exclaimed Martha and gave Kate a super hug.

Kate was really happy; she looked at Alexis hoping she wouldn't reject her, and gave her a hug too.

"Is that ok for you Alexis?" – Kate said.

"Well, yes" – She replied.

"Then, why do you have this look on your face?" – Kate gently asked.

"It's just that, my Dad has been struggling so hard to find the right person for him since he broke up with my mother…"

"That you are afraid I might leave him or break his heart?" – Kate completed.

"Kind of…"

Rick and Martha went to the couch, to talk about Rick's new relationship and Rick started to tell his mother how Kate was the one and how he always wanted this to happen to him. How he always wanted her and now he had her. While they talked, Kate helped Alexis in the kitchen.

"Listen, Alexis. Your father told me you're having some problems with your boyfriend. This must be still on your head and makes you doubt of everything around you, even if it's a small thing." – Kate said. "But the thing is whatever happened between you and your boyfriend, if you really love each other, you both will trespass this in the right time. You just have to give him some space and have yours too. This will give you the chance to pounder about where you are in this relationship and also where you think you both are in this one".

"Thank you so much Kate. You don't have any idea of how much your words are making me feel more free and relaxed. I was hoping to call him today. But I'll wait a little longer."

"Now, about your dad and I… I can't promise you Rick and I won't have any issues in our relationship. Just like you and your boyfriend I'm sure there will be those times when our ideas get to a conflict and we will argue. But that doesn't mean we will never talk to each other again. It will just be a normal thing that happens to real couples". Kate paused and thought about what she had just said; "Real couples". Her gaze fell at Rick, who was sitting on the couch next his mother and, with her gaze fixed on him, she continued. "I know you must have helped your father through this time that I wasn't with him, but I wanted you to know that I was denying him for a good reason. I wasn't ready for a relationship because I was to focus on my mother and if I had gotten into a relationship with him before then I would've hurt him, but the truth is your father gave me a light to shine my way out. And it was with him. That's when I realized how much I love him"

Alexis looked at her with a thankful look.

"We can't promise happy ever after like in fairy tales, because we don't know what the future holds for us. But we do know that we can promise one thing: We will love and respect each other deeply and this will drive us into the road called life". Kate finished.

"Thank you Kate".

Rick and Kate finally finished and were leaving his loft to go to the Precinct. At the door, Martha said:

"Welcome Kate. Welcome to our family"

"Thank you Martha_"_

"Ah Dad, before you go…" Alexis said. "You're a lucky guy".

Rick smiled at Alexis and then looked at Kate. She was showing that smile that she only wears when she is with him, which had no other meaning than love. They both left Rick's loft and were driving downtown to the Precinct when Kate's phone rang, it was Ryan.

"Beckett, we have a victim"

"Ok, give me the address" She wrote down in the piece of paper she found on Rick's car and turned to him.

"Ready for work honey?"

They got up and entered in Castle's car.

"Who do you think would find out about us first? Gates doesn't count" – asked Rick.

"I'm sure Lanie would do, if we decided not to tell anymore, she would definitely find out first"

"I think Ryan and Esposito would"

"Not so sure Castle"

"What? Wanna bet?"

"Yeah. 10 bucks Lanie will figure first"

"10 bucks it is. We give them one more week. If they don't find out we tell them"

"Deal… You're so loosing it"

They walked through the crime scene, getting out of the car together. They got weird looks from Ryan and Esposito as they walked, and Rick whispered:

"See, they are already suspecting".

"Sure they are. This is a murder investigation, they have to be suspecting…" Kate replied and gave him a little smile.

"Just for that, I'm raising the bet. 20 bucks"

"Fine"

"Hey!" – Esposito yelled "You're here. I was wondering what was holding you back".

"I was helping Alexis with a boyfriend problem. What do we have?" Kate promptly answered and asked for news on the case.

"John Doe, mid twenties, bruises on the body indicating he had a fight with the killer, Lanie is analyzing him to state COD" – said Ryan.

"Uniforms are canvassing the area looking for any surveillance cameras, wallet… Anything that could help us to identify the victim or to show us what was going on the last couple of days" – completed Esposito.

"Great job you guys. Even look like real Detectives" – she said and smile.

"Yeah" they used they favorite touch to indicate they did a great job.

"We can find out anything you want".

Rick gave Kate a winner look and she ignored him, going after Lanie.

"So, what do we have?"

"It's too soon to state anything right now. He has bruises in his body and apparently died from this gunshot right here. I think it's a 9mm but I have to take him to the lab to run tests to see if the gunshot killed him or something else. Then I'll be able to give you an accurate COD. But I'm sure I can give you his time of death; it would be around 4 and 6 am last night".

"Thanks Lanie"

"Hey Ryan_" - _She yelled - _"_Just to clear my mind, have CSU looking for prints in this piece of wood in here, may be nothing but we can get something. One more thing, ask Esposito to run his picture in our database, maybe we can find and ID there."

"On it. Oh and there's a surveillance camera right at the end of the alley, probably we won't get any image, but it must have recorded the audio."

"Go ahead."

Ryan left to find the owner of the camera and to ask CSU to run for the prints. Kate was leaving Lanie to go talk to Rick to feed him up on the info of the case.

"Just for the record Katie, you smell like writer" – Lanie kept looking at the victim.

Kate stopped and looked at Lanie, but Lanie was with her back turned to her; then she continued.

"So… Anything?" – Rick asked.

"Not much, no ID, no wallet, and apparently we will only have COD when Lanie get the corpse to the morgue. Ryan is checking the surveillance cameras around and I asked CSU to look for prints in that piece of wood back there… I also asked Esposito to run his picture on our database to see if we can ID him."

"Hey!" – Esposito yelled. "Police freeze!"

Rick and Kate immediately turned to see the suspect, but the suspect raised his gun and shot. Rick ran in front of Kate and pulled her to the ground with him.

"Son of a bitch!" – Yelled Ryan.

"We have a partner down!" – Esposito said and ran after the suspect.

Lanie ran toward Castle and Beckett, but stopped beside Kate.

"C'mon! Don't leave me! C'mon! Not like this! No! Rick! Rick!" – Kate desperately yelled, her face was red like fire and she couldn't breathe because she was crying very hard, she started the CPR. Lanie put her hand on Kate's shoulder and whispered:

"The ambulance is coming, he'll be fine!"

"No no no no no..._" _Kate couldn't stoplooking at him. She didn't even notice Lanie was there.

"Hey" – Rick moaned very softly.

"Can you hear me? Please don't leave. Please" – She yelled.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

The ambulance finally came. Kate was sobbing high and Lanie didn't know what to do. She just held Kate very tight and said:

"It's ok girl, they're here. We'll take him to a hospital and he's going to be just fine, you don't have to be the one to tell his family. Let Ryan do this, you just go with him in the ambulance".

Kate looked at Lanie and gave her a hug, with her red eyes full of tears; she got in the ambulance and leaned on Castle, resting her head and one hand on his chest.

"Rick, please don't leave me" - She slowly whispered, intercalating the words with sobs.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Kate's head resting on his chest. His gaze was blurry and he was feeling very weak. He moved his hand under her and wrapped around her body, holding her. Carefully, Kate raised her head and looked at him. He opened a weak smile for her and whispered:

"Hi"

She couldn't believe he was awake.

"Hi", she replied and smiled. She caressed his face with her soft hand and then slipped her hand on his hair. She slowly ran a finger on his lips and landed him a tender kiss.

"We're on our way to the hospital, everything is going to be ok" – she said.

Some beeps began to soar, his hand fell from her body and Rick lost his senses again. They got to the hospital and he was taken to surgery. She was tense. A few minutes later, Ryan, Esposito and Lanie got there too; along with Martha and Alexis. Kate ran and held Alexis very tight; she didn't want Alexis to feel lost like she was.

"How is he?" – Esposito asked.

"He's doing great, he's on surgery" – Kate replied, she wiped the tears of her face. "Let's go boys".

_"_Where the hell you think you're going?" – Asked Ryan.

"I have an investigation to run and a killer to catch and also my bo… Rick's shooter. This guy will go to jail and I'll make sure he'll spend his life there" – She replied in anger.

"You're not going anywhere, Kate" – Esposito replied. He only called her "Kate" when he was worried and wanted to show himself harsh. "You will stay here and be with him when he wake up of the surgery, Ryan and I will catch that son of a bitch"

"And I will make sure you and Mr. Castle are away from this case" – Gates said entering in the hospital. "How is he?"

"Sir I won't back—"

"I'm not asking for you to back off, Detective. You **will** back off because I give the orders in here. You two are too close to this case right now. Whoever this guy is, he probably had a reason to shoot into a Detective's direction. He thinks he's greater than a police officer and we will get to him to find out, now how is Mr. Castle?"

"Why are you asking? You don't like him anyway…" – Kate replied with her head down.

"He's one of my guys"

Kate was surprised, but explained the situation to Gates. Esposito, Ryan, Lanie and Gates left the hospital.

A few hours later, Kate told Martha and Alexis to go home. They needed to rest and clear their minds. Kate was going to stay in the hospital. Seems like nothing could get her out of there anymore, unless she was getting out with him. The surgery had ended and he was sedated. She was laid on the couch inside his room, sleeping, or at least trying to. She was thinking about her, how she always put herself in danger. She remembered when she was shot. Now she felt what he felt. The uncertainty of not knowing what was coming next. Was he going to be ok? Was he feeling ok? She opened her eyes and rolled her gaze on him, the man she loved was laid on that hospital bed. His face looked calm, like he was resting. She sat on the couch, but didn't stop looking at him, and started thinking that she couldn't remember how her life was without him. She felt like without him there was no life for her anymore.

She thought about her father and how he didn't know about Rick yet. She left the room and called her father from the hospital hall, in front of Rick's door.

"Katie, how are you?"

"Hi, Dad. I'm fine, and you?"

"I'm great sweetie. Are you sure everything's ok? I feel a hint of sadness in your voice"

"Dad, I'm with Rick. We are together now. It's been 3 months. I just didn't say anything before because I wanted to be sure_"._

"It's ok sweetheart. I'm very, very happy for you. It was very clear how he felt about you and how you felt about him. I'm glad to hear you both finally admitted it. But why do I still sense you have something else going on?"

"It's Rick dad" – She started crying again "He was shot".

"Oh my God, is he ok?"

"He's out of surgery. He's sleeping right now. Dad, I'm so afraid. That's why I was running away of a relationship. When I lost mom the pain I felt was just…. I couldn't feel it again it was too strong like I wasn't able to handle it, like it was too much for me to carry. The pain I felt was a very heavy burden I had to carry for thirteen years and now, when I finally let it go, there's this and…. Oh dad, I'm so lost"

"Calm down sweetie" – her father told her in a soft tone. "Listen to me; he's going to be alright. You won't lose him I promise. You should not be afraid of feeling this pain again, or even be afraid in getting into a relationship, Katie. Our path in life is measured by the things we learn. You learned a lot with what you suffer because of your mother, you may feel you didn't find your way out of it but you did. What you are feeling right now it's nothing but love and fear of losing it. I remember when you showed me your friend's letter to you. He was right; risking our hearts is why we're alive. Rick is the one who is keeping you alive, sweetie. And you are the one who's keeping him alive, so don't you worry because the bound between you and him… will bring him back".

"Thank you dad"

"Now, you should go back to him. Be there when he wakes up. I love you Katie"

"I love you too dad"

Once again, she wiped the tears of her face and entered in the room. He was awake. Weak, but at least he was awake and aware of things. She didn't notice and walked towards the couch again.

"Kate" - He said.

She promptly turned to him and smiled. She ran and held him carefully, but very tight.

"How are you feeling?" – She asked.

"Like I've been shot" – He replied and laughed. He was okay, she was sure of that because of his joke. Life filled her body again, his voice calmed her. She put her hand on his face, caressing him. Her eyes were sparkling like never before.

He pulled himself for the side of the bed, giving her space. She laid beside him and put her head and her right hand in his chest, as well as her right leg on top of his. They fell asleep together.

In the morning the doctor entered in the room and found them sleeping. He woke up both of them and told them Rick could go back home, but he should get some rest. Maybe a day, just to make sure he would be perfectly well.

They were inside of the car, on their way to his house.

"So, did I win the bet?" – Rick asked.

Kate started laughing.

"What?"

"I can't believe you're thinking about that now" – She said, still laughing.

"I just remembered it. It's not exactly what I'm thinking".

"Then what are you thinking exactly?"

"I won't tell you".

"Oh c'mon Rick, don't be a child" – She was all smiles.

"Why are we going home?" – He asked.

"Because Gates kicked us out of the case. Said we were too close to this one"

"But we have to—"

"I know we have to catch the guy who shot you Castle, but I trust Ryan and Esposito will do this and trust me, this guy will suffer in their hands…"

They got to Rick's apartment and there was Martha and Alexis all apprehensive. They ran in his direction and both of the hugged him at the same time.

"Oh Richard, don't you dare do this to me again" – Martha said.

"What Mother? Seems like you love me!" – He said and laughed.

Martha gave him a little snap in his chest and turned, leaving the room.

"Dad, are you ok? Are you sure? Please tell me everything. Do you need anything? Can I do anything for you? I was so worried, please don't do this aga—wait, I'll make you a cup of coffee, no you slept too much already, what do you think of pancakes? I have a better idea why we just don—"

"Hey, hey, hey sweetheart, calm down. I'm just fine"

Kate was standing right behind him. She couldn't take that smile from her face. The happiness of seeing a family reunited again was filling her with passion and it was making her fall even more in love with him. But she felt kind of jealous, like she wanted so much to be a part of it, but wasn't. Rick turned to her and saw she was wearing the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, but she was feeling something else, he knew her very well to know about that, but he decided not to ask anything now.

"Kate, can I talk to you for a second?" – Rick asked.

"Sure"

He led her to his bedroom and sat on his bed. She sat right beside him; he reached for her and started to kiss her so deep that she lost the sense of everything around her. She felt the message he was trying to pass; he thought he was going to die and he would never see her again, so she gave herself with passion to him and with a fury. It didn't take too long for him to rip off her blouse. This time he didn't ask for permission. She didn't bother anyway.

"Rick, I thought I'd lost you forever", she moaned softly in his ear.

He reached for her more and more intensely.

"Kate, I don't want you to be alone anymore" – Rick said. "You have to move in".

Kate looked at him. He was reluctant of the answer but was firm and convinced he had made himself very clear.


	6. Chapter 6

**I hated my Chapter 5, I know most of you didn't like it either. But give me one more chance, I still have some ideas in my head and even if Chapter 6 isn't that good, the story will develop and you'll like it. I promise. **

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

The effect of the anesthesia was fading, and Castle started to feel the pain of the surgery, he was laid on the bed beside Kate. She realized he must have been on pain, because he couldn't stop moving himself trying to find the right position. She knew how it was. And the worst thing was that cold weather was starting to pop up in New York. She cuddled with him, so both of them could get warmer. They heard some voices outside the bedroom so they decided they would get up and go outside to check what was going on, but before they decided to have a shower together.

Both of them put on a rub and left the bedroom, Martha and Alexis were already up, they had made the breakfast so all they needed was to eat it. Kate sat beside Rick so she could have a look while they ate, just to make sure he wouldn't do anything that would make him feel more pain. She bit a piece of the pancake Alexis' had made and said:

"Alexis this is delicious, congratulations!"

"Thank you Kate" - She replied and went with Martha to the living room to watch some TV. Alexis was on vacation from school and she was enjoying her time with her grandma and going out with her friends, but it looked like she was on vacation from her boyfriend too, so Kate called her to have a little chat.

"How are you with your boyfriend?" – Kate asked.

"Well, I told him I needed a time from us. What you said to me about not being sure and the fear you had of breaking my dad's heart made me think that I should do the same. I have to understand what I'm feeling and then decide something"

"That's right Alexis. You should do that. Just, don't stop talking with him. Don't lose contact. Imagine if you decide to give it a shot and then you realize you can't because you totally froze the relationship… You don't need to talk to him, just give him a sign that you're alive" – Kate told her and smiled.

"I'll do that" – Alexis said, gave Kate a hug and left.

As she left the room, Rick's gaze was at Kate like he was amazed of how lovely she could be. Kate's look was at Alexis.

"She's a smart kid, Rick. You've raised a great daughter". Then she rolled her gaze to Rick, who was already staring at her, and gave him a tender kiss. Interlacing their tongues, since Martha and Alexis were concentrated on the TV.

Someone was at the door and Martha went to see who it was, she opened the door and Ryan, Esposito and Lanie were there.

"We tried to reach Beckett but she wouldn't pick her phone up. And since we knew Castle was out of the hospital we thought we should pay him a visit to see how he is" – said Esposito.

Before Martha could say anything, they smiled and got in, just in time to catch Rick and Kate in the middle of a kiss.

They were shocked but they took it nicely since they had already suspected of it. The only thing they weren't sure was if they had already consummated it, but judging from their clothes, the two detectives and the medical examiner could just imply they had. Kate immediately blushed.

"Hey… guys…. You're…. here…" – she said embarrassed.

"We just wanted to know how Castle was, but I see we didn't have to worry, did we?" – Lanie said.

"You guys want pancakes?" – Castle asked trying to break the awkwardness.

"We didn't set a bet if they found out together" – Castle whispered in Kate's ear.

"Well, then I guess we both won. Fair enough"

They all sat at the table and enjoyed Alexis' pancakes while they filled Beckett on the case.

They told Beckett they had identified the John Doe through face recognition in their database. His name was Rob he was in the system because a few years ago he registered a complaint about his neighbor, nothing out of the ordinary. They finished eating and left Castle's loft and headed back to the Precinct. They got a call on their way; another body. Ryan and Esposito went to find a connection between the victims while Lanie was doing the autopsy to state COD and TOD. It didn't take too much to find out that Rob and Ted (the second victim) were related. Ted was Rob's alumni. Rob was a lawyer and he was ministering private classes and Ted was one of his students. Ryan called his office to talk with Elaine, his secretary and Esposito went to talk to Ted's family.

After revealing the shock truth to Ted's family, Ryan appeared near the glass and nodded Esposito. He excused himself and went to talk to Ryan.

"Turns out Rob was a great teacher, he had all the certifications from the highest top Law schools around the world. His father was rich so he grounded everything. When I asked about the way he used to teach, Elaine said he used some cold cases that had no way of being solved and gave to his students so they could see how a real case was, and as homework, they should create an ending to "solve" the case".

Esposito got worried, he had a hunch but wouldn't say anything before Ryan could finish.

"Yeah Bro. I can see the look on your face. Rob took Johanna Beckett's case to teach the boy. And guess what…" – Ryan continued.

"Ted found out more than he should." – Completed Esposito.

The air was tense in the Precinct, should they tell Gates about the connection? Should they tell Beckett? Esposito asked Ryan to wait a little bit before telling anyone. He gave Lanie a call.

"So Lanie, anything?"

"Yeah, I was about to call you. Definitely Rob's COD is a gunshot; 9mm. The guy shot Rob in his left shoulder right beside his clavicle, the killer shot him precisely in his artery, causing his death. I state the time of death as I said at the crime scene, between 4 and 6 am. And you guys won't believe it. Ted has the same COD, but the TOD is different; around 2 to 4 am. I can assure you it was the same guy who shot both."

"Any chance this guy could be Beckett's sniper?"

"Any? Lots of chances and if you really wanna know, he tried to put her down again, but Castle saved her so now you're looking for Castle's shooter too, all in one Espo."

"Thanks Lanie."

Esposito turned off the phone and turned to Ryan.

"Yo Ryan, you're not gonna believe this Bro. Cole Maddox is back."

"Espo we have to tell Gates."

"I know Bro, but what about Beckett?"

"I don't know… She won't stop if she starts digging again. We all know that and no matter what we do we won't stop her either."

"It's her mother Ryan. We need to."

"Ok, but while you go tell Beckett, I'll tell Gates."

"Ok"

Esposito headed to Castle's loft, when he got there he was tense and Beckett could feel it in him, and so did Castle. Castle told him to come on in, but Esposito said he was going to be fast because he needed to go back to the Twentieth.

"Beckett, there's something I have to share with you. The second victim we got today is connected to the first. Rob was a law professor and Ted was his private student. The thing is, Rob's way of teaching was to grab some old cases with no probability of being solved to show his students how real case files was, and they should "solve" the case, by creating a story with the evidences found in the files. He took you mother's case. Rob and Ted were killed with single gunshot in their left shoulder, hitting precisely in their artery. The guy is a pro. And the gun matches Maddox's"

Kate was paralyzed. She wasn't even blinking. She felt groundless.

"I'm sorry to shout it all at once like that, but you need to know and I know Gates would've tried to stop me, since you're off the case_"_

Esposito stopped and his face was consumed by sadness just by looking at Kate's reaction, but he had to continue.

"He tried to kill you again Becks. Castle saved you"

Kate turned to Rick and hid, wrapping herself around his arms and resting her head on his chest. She always wanted to make people look at her and see a strong woman and the truth is she had been strong for too long; she knew she wouldn't look weak if she started crying. So she did. Rick held her even tight and rested his head on hers.

"Shh, shh, Kate. It's ok" – Rick whispered.

* * *

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Kate didn't know what to do; for 3 months she thought she had gone out of the big conspiracy that was her mother's case, not because she gave up on her mother, but because if she had continued she would get destroyed. Castle slowly drove Beckett to put her in his couch and went back at Esposito.

"Sorry man, it's her mother I couldn't just hid it from her" – Esposito said.

"I know, I know. I wouldn't have hidden too. Not anymore. I hid a really big part of this from her, thinking she would understand that was all about her safety, eventually she did" – Castle replied, he tried to hide from Esposito, but a tear rolled down his face.

"We need to help her"

"We will" – Esposito said and gave Castle a hug. He turned and went back to the Precinct; he figured he should come back another time to explain it better.

Castle sat on the couch with Beckett, he was a lost seeing her like that. He held her tight and told her they would do this together. She was devastated, he held his gaze on her and she turned to look at him.

"I need to go to the Precinct Castle. I need to chase the lead before it gets weak".

"I won't let you do this Kate. This man is dangerous it almost killed you. Twice"

"Castle I need this. It's my mother!"

"I thought you had put all of this behind you Kate!"

"I did, but I never imagined this would show up like that! I thought that if I stopped digging things would stop showing up and as you can see with your own eyes things are still popping up!" – She was a little angry at this point, and Castle was too.

"I won't let you destroy yourself Kate! I won't"

"I don't know how you're going to do this Castle" – Kate said and left the apartment.

"Kate!" – Castle screamed, but she didn't listen, she took his car and went to the Precinct.

Ryan and Esposito tried to stop her, but she grabbed her things and left. Lanie was coming through the front door, and felt how tense the room was.

"Girl you come back here now, you can't do this, you'll get yourself killed and now you have more to lose than you can imagine and I know you don't want that"

"I'm sorry Lanie" – Kate said and left.

She was desperate and thought about everything. She sat inside the car and there she stood, for hours. She panicked and messed everything up but didn't know exactly why. Lanie's words echoed through her mind "…now you have more to lose than you can imagine and I know you don't want that". She knew what Lanie meant. She was talking about Castle, but the most important thing that came into her mind was her advice to Alexis. She told Alexis that they couldn't promise they would never hurt each other, but they would do everything they could not to. She took her phone and called Castle.

"Castle…" – her voice was failing – "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry", still failing.

"Beckett what happened? Kate, are you there?"

"I'm here Castle. Why did I do this? Why?"

"You're in shock Kate. It's ok, where are you now?"

"I was on my way to my apartment but I stopped 2 blocks away from your house, something pulled me to you."

"I'm going after you."

"You don't need Castle it's raining."

"I'm going Kate!"

Castle ran like he didn't have enough time. He ran as if Kate was in great danger, but his wound stopped him sometimes. It was almost dark and it was raining very strong. He got to the car and opened the passenger's door and sat beside her. He looked at her and she returned her gaze to him. He could see in her eyes she was sorry. "What was she thinking", he thought, "maybe even Kate didn't know". She leaned and gave him a deep his; his skin was wet. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt that it was wet too, but she didn't care. He held her very tight and kept on kissing her.

"I told you we would do this together. We will investigate. But we will do this together"

"I know Castle. I promise I won't let it take over me like that again"

He answered kissing her. They stood there for some minutes, and then they decided to go to her apartment, it's been a while since Kate wasn't there, all she did these past days was go there and grab some clothes and go back to Rick's loft.

"We have to find our rhythm you know?" – She said.

"Yeah…" – he replied, but now he was intrigued. "For what?" – And gave her a little smile.

"You'll see"

They got inside her apartment, nothing had changed. She told him to prepare something for them to drink while she grabbed some clothes. He went to the kitchen and found tequila and figured they could drink it. He searched for lemon and salt and rapidly found them. He waited for her, sat on the couch, with the drink on the central table. To add some romantic feeling to the room, he closed the windows and lighted up some candles, the weather was cold anyway.

"How long will you take Kate?"

He didn't need an answer; she was already at the end of the hallway, ready for their happy hour.

"Hum. Tequila. I wonder what you had in your mind when you chose this" – She said.

"Well, when you drink Tequila you feel this warmth inside of you. Maybe then it was because of your hotness…"

They both laughed. Now he could make these kinds of jokes and comments, they were together, weren't they?

"Where are we Castle?"

"At your apartment. And we are about to have the most romantic and wild night of our lives"

She laughed. "No, I mean… where are we?"

"Can I answer you in one hour?"

"Ok"

He offered her a shot of tequila. They played a little game that Rick invented there. After drinking one shot if they made weird faces, they should take off a piece of their clothes. It was almost like they didn't know what this was leading them. Somehow they got to the bed, they weren't sure how, but all they needed to be sure was that they were together.

"Can I answer your question now?" – He asked.

"Yeah. Go ahead"

"We are here Kate" – He put his hand on her chest. "And here". Then he placed his hand on her head. "Here" he put his hand on her eyes. "Here" and he caressed her body.

"We are inside ourselves. We are one". – And he kissed her. "But, now it's your turn. What did you mean with finding our rhythm?"

"I'm moving in Castle"

* * *

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**I wanna thank BTF for the tips. I tried to apply them in this next chapter. **

**And especially to fbobs: Thanks for helping me. You have no idea how happy I was when I read it, as I said I tried to apply everything you told me in this chapter.**

**I hope you like it! **

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

Rick couldn't believe that Kate had said that, when he told her that she should move in she never actually said anything, but he didn't want to push her so he never brought the subject again. At least he wouldn't, for now.

"What made you decide that?"

"Rick, my entire life has been full of relationships that have ended too soon. And the truth is… In any of them I've ever felt like this. And you taught me so much. You taught me that I don't need to be serious all the time, that I can actually have fun by setting myself free. I was never able to do this before, that's why I was so closed inside me. And you came along and you changed everything. Now I can be… myself".

"You know what you did to me Detective? I grew up. I grew up enough to know that for the first time I could look into somebody's eyes and say I love you and actually know that it wasn't for waste – something I thought I wouldn't be able to do again –"

Rick held Kate in his arms and they stayed like that for a while. They didn't sleep; they just stayed there feeling each other because now they knew how true they were.

For a moment Kate thought that she was being precipitated, but then she looked at him; no, she wasn't being precipitated; she had never felt as satisfied as she felt the moment she said she would move in, because that's what she wanted.

"How would Alexis take this, Rick?"

"I'm sure she will be okay with it. She's the one that told me when you left my apartment today that I should not let you go away. She knows how much you mean to me and how much I love you Kate and she cares about you a lot"

"It will be great" – she smiled.

"It will".

Lanie was worried about Kate, she called and called but Kate didn't answer. Finally when she was almost sending Ryan and Esposito to her apartment, Rick picked up.

"Yes" – he said.

Kate didn't realize he was at the phone – her phone – and said in a sexy voice: "Come on Rick what are you doing?"

He turned and put a finger in his mouth, indicating for her to be quiet, and then he showed her the phone.

"I think I've just interrupted something, didn't I?" – Asked Lanie.

"Well…" – Rick was wordless and Lanie felt it and proceeded.

"I'm sorry, I was worried about her, but seeing she's in good hands… It sounded a little strange, but anyway"

"Yeah it did. I got it. Ok. Bye."

"Lanie?"

"Yes. She wanted to know if you were okay, she was worried"

"I bet she was, I should talk to her later"

"Ok, for now, Detective Beckett you should pack"

"Oh, I don't think I need to"

She moved her gaze to the other side of the room, where there were a lot of bags; Rick opened her drawers and the wardrobe door's and it was all empty. He looked at her and smiled.

"I know you are fast – which is an incredibly thing, if you know what I mean – but never thought it would be this fast, when did you pack it?"

"Yesterday, that's why I took a while to go back to the living room…"

"Ooooww you're smart, Detective"

"Yes I am and you know what else I'm smart at?" – She said as she pulled him closer and kissed him, teasing him. "Taking a good shower and then clearing the kitchen and the rest of the house, Mr. Castle. Now if you'll excuse me…" – She got up and put his long shirt and left to the kitchen.

"You will kill me one day, you know?" – He yelled.

Rick called Martha and Alexis to tell the good news and they prepared the loft for her.

"How are you taking this, sweetheart?" – Martha asked Alexis.

"What? Kate moving in? I think it will be good for him grandma. She makes him happy. Now you tell me. What do you think about all of this?"

"Oh Kiddo, I've never seen your father so happy. You can see it in his eyes when he talks about her. This time, my dear, is true love."

Rick and Kate had finished packing, he would return there with her again to take care of whatever was necessary, but first they would arrange her place at his loft.

"Well, where's the guest room located in your loft?"

"Guest room? Why? Do you really think I'm gonna let you spend your nights away from me?"

"Castle, I…"

"No no no no no. Unless you _really_ want to sleep there."

"I don't know… it's not me. I just keep thinking about Alexis and what she's gonna think…"

"She doesn't have to think about anything… Anyway, Kate, I won't be upset if you chose to stay there."

"I'll stay with you, but if she thinks this is weird for her, then I'll move to the guest room."

"Deal."

Back at the Precinct, Ryan and Esposito had new leads on Beckett's mother's case, but they didn't know if they should tell her or keep on digging.

"Espo this is a conspiracy I'm scared if we get too deep we'll end up dead as the others."

"We can't back off Bro. This would be cheating on Beckett… we have to solve this."

"I'm not saying we should back off I'm saying we can't do this alone. Let Gates help us."

"You know that if we get to a point where we have no leads she'll close the case again."

"I know Espo, but what can we do? Die in the process and fail?"

"Let's solve this Ryan."

They both turned to the murder board to see what they had on the case.

"Yeah, ok. So far we have this: Rob gave Ted Johanna's case to solve, both ended up dead with a gunshot matching Maddox's gun…" – Ryan said.

"Now we have this: Rob is one of Johanna's colleagues' grandson."

"Okay, so Rob knew about the case. He must have known or this doesn't make any sense. Between all the cases in New York he chooses this one exactly… If there's one thing we've learned from Beckett is that there's no such thing as coincidence, at least not for us detectives."

A uniform handed a piece of paper to Esposito.

"I agree this is no coincidence. Check this out: You know that guy Mr. Smith that Castle told us about? Rob was his young brother."

"So before Maddox gets to him, he sends the files to Rob and Rob decides to use Ted to help him see something that they must have missed."

"Yeah, know what I think? Ted found something and teamed up with Rob. So they marked to meet in that alley around our two times of deaths. Both end up dead."

"Esposito… We have to find the case file."

"Let's go back to that alley and search for something that can point us to Maddox."

* * *

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

"See if you can pull the surveillance videos from the murder scene. They both died in the same alley, someone wanted them to die there so there must be something a couple of days before the murders that can help us. I'll call Castle". – Said Esposito.

"On it – I'll check everything again".

Esposito turned and took the phone to call Castle.

"Castle, we need to talk".

"Hey Esposito, what's up?" – Castle replied while he finished closing some boxes in Kate's apartment.

"It's about that man, Mr. Smith. You think you can give me his number?"

"Sorry Esposito, but the number he gave me to call him was from a burner phone. He's unreachable. He'll call you when he thinks you'll need his guidance and help".

"Then we'll have to make a situation where he'll have to call you".

"The guy knows what he's doing. He won't fall for our pretend. C'mon, you really think he'll just call me? He's smart; he knows the depths of this conspiracy"

They stopped talking because someone knocked on the door. Castle asked Beckett if she had ordered food and she said no so she took her position with her gun and post herself behind the door. They heard a noise and Kate nodded slowly to Castle open the door. They didn't know what was outside so they had to be prepared to whatever that could be, the only thing Beckett was afraid of was if Castle could get hurt again, but she was confident that this was just a misunderstanding.

When Castle opened the door there was nothing outside, just some files on the floor. He took it and closed the door. They checked any entrance that Kate's apartment had and blocked all of them, just in case. Castle put the files on the table and put Esposito on speaker.

"I guess you don't need Mr. Smith anymore, Esposito. We have his files".

Castle and Beckett looked at each other. Were those the files that could solve this case once and for all?

"Let me open this." – Kate said.

"No, Kate. I'll do it." – Answered Esposito. "As a murder evidence I think I should open first, besides you're off the case I don't want any trouble with Gates. I'll stop by and catch the files."

"Ok."

In a hurry, Esposito got the files and came back to the Precinct. He opened the files and found many leads involving Rob, Ted and Mr. Smith as well as with Maddox, but nothing on the Dragon. At least not with a superficial look, then he called Kate.

"Ryan and I will check every detail here and send you an e-mail with what we find. Let we handle this Beckett. I promise we'll solve this case for you if we get to a closure you'll have the honors to do it."

"Thanks Espo."

Castle held Beckett in his arms and said:

"I told you. We'll do it together."

"Thank you."

They kissed, gently but deep; after some moments they took her things put them in the car and left to his loft. On their way to his loft Beckett said:

"How do you do it?"

"What?"

"3 years ago after I shot Dick Coonan you almost quit. You told me you were leaving because you couldn't handle the guilty you were feeling because you had re-opened my mother's case and I told you that I'd like you around when I close the case. After everything I did, you're still here."

He didn't answer he just looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you, for everything." – she continued.

"You know why I'm here. And just so you know I'm not an easy guy to get rid of…"

"I know." – she interrupted and smiled."

Castle laughed and continued – "But I'm here."

Back at the Precinct, Esposito and Ryan started their list.

"So here we… go." – Said Ryan.

"Let's show this to Castle and Beckett."

While they were leaving the Precinct, Ryan told Esposito.

"I've been thinking… Now that Castle and Beckett are together I think they should have a couple's name. I mean a mix of their names so we don't have to say: Castle and Beckett all the time… We should call them _Bestle" _– He turned to Esposito and saw the look on his face. "Got it? BEckettcasTLE… _Bestle_".

"Really? _Bestle_?" – He looked at Ryan with a disbelief face and Ryan stopped talking, he got embarrassed, but Esposito continued – "_Bestle_ is all you could come up with? C'mon bro… we should call them _Caskett_…"

They laughed and got on the elevator.

Castle and Beckett finally got to the loft and they were unpacking and putting everything in the right place with Alexis and Martha helping them.

"I'm so happy you are here kiddo, I must say you made the right choice. You followed your heart… it never fails. It's a huge step Kate, but you're not in this alone" – Martha said and hug Kate.

"Thank you Martha. My only concern is with Alexis, this may be…"

"Kate!" – Alexis shouted and ran to hug her. "I'm so happy you are here".

"I'm happy too Alexis" – Kate replied and took Alexis to sit with her in the couch while Martha helped Castle with her things.

"I thought very hard about moving in, and I must say you were the reason why I didn't say yes so promptly, but not because I didn't want to be around you, I was afraid how you were going to take this. I don't want to invade your space and most important, even though I try to help you I know I'm not your mother and I didn't want you to think I was trying to steal this spot…"

Before she could continue, Alexis said:

"Don't worry Kate, it never crossed my mind. I know the biggest reason you are here is my father and that's why I'm happy. I love my mom, but you are the one for him Kate. He's happy with you and I like you very much"

"You know what? Enough said." – Kate said and smiled – "My worries are gone".

"Good. Now let's unpack your things and arrange everything".

"Ok"

They hug, smiled and went to help Martha and Castle.

Esposito called Castle to know where they were, they got at Castle's loft very fast. Ryan turned to Beckett and started.

"So… Caskett…"

"What?" – asked Beckett.

"We made a list and we took a huge step in all of the cases, Rob's, Ted's and Johanna's"

"Let's go"

They all sat at the couch and started reading the list; Castle took his notebook to type everything in it so they could see in a huge screen, just like a murder board.

"Dick Coonan killed Johanna Beckett and her colleagues following the Dragon's orders to stop them from getting to him. They didn't know – and that's why it was never brought to subject at the investigation – but Rob saw the three cops, the mobster and Bob at the alley. He saw the shooting and told Mr. Smith about it."

"Mr. Smith was Montgomery's friend that's why when Montgomery got to him he protected his friend." – said Kate.

"Yes." – Continued Ryan – "That's why he knows everything about the conspiracy."

"Let me guess…" – Started Castle – "Rob took Johanna's files and gave them to Ted so they could work together on it. It means Ted knew what he was getting himself into, he must have known."

"I think that too. But why would Rob take Mr. Smith's files? Did he steal them? Did Mr. Smith give to him?" – said Esposito.

"Good questions. Something must have happened." – said Castle when his phone started ringing. "Castle" – he answered.

"Mr. Castle? Do you have a minute?"

"Yes I do."

"I'm calling concerning your girlfriend's case. I'm sorry to inform you, but I can no longer keep her protection, without me you'll have to do it by yourselves if you can."

"What? What do you mean without you? And why do we have your files?"

"I'm in great danger… You're smart Mr. Castle. It's time for the well-placed pawn to make its move."

"Wait! I can't…"

Before he could finish he heard a failing voice over the phone but he could understand everything that was being said.

"I've reached you before but you hid what I wanted so cleverly I had to look for myself a little more and I didn't like not finding them. WHERE ARE THE FILES?"

"You'll never touch it." – answered Mr. Smith.

"No, Mr. Smith. I'll find the files. And you and nobody else will _ever_ touch HIM."

Then Castle heard a shot and rapidly turned the phone off, he knew that Maddox had just killed Mr. Smith. He didn't say anything for a moment, because while he was at the phone the detectives were focused on the files. When he finally decided to tell them, Kate said:

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"They're coming for me."

* * *

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

"What do you mean they are coming for you Kate?"

"They tried to kill me before and then again but you… you know. And now with these things the guys found out. I'm in danger, I…"

"Easy there Beckett, we won't let anything happen to you" – said Ryan.

Ryan and Esposito decided to head back to the Precinct, they still had the surveillance videos to watch again and it was not going to be easy since they had already watched and didn't find anything, this time they would have to do it more carefully, looking for anything odd. Anything.

"Ryan, you're the king of the surveillance videos… we need to find something that can help us"

"I think you could join me. Two is better than one for this kind of stuff, at least right now"

"Sure, bro"

They started to watch the videos again and when they reached around the kill zone they noticed something odd.

"Have you seen this, bro?" – asked Ryan.

"What?"

"Check this out" – Ryan said while he was rewinding the video – "Look at this point of the video. You can notice the wind in that tree back there, but then you have this" –then he pressed play and showed Esposito that the tree suddenly stopped being affected by the wind.

"I know what this is man. Someone took a picture of the exact place the camera was recording and placed it in front of the lens"

"Yeah, and while this thing is on, we can't see what's happening there. Damn, he's smart Espo"

"We are dealing with a pro. We knew from the very beginning"

"Let's go back to the alley; I know how to identify the man who placed the picture there. Call CSU we're going to need to collect some prints"

Esposito called CSU and they both left for the alley, they didn't tell anything to Gates, but they called for backup just in case, if they found anything good they would have to call Gates, but until then they didn't want her to frustrate their actions of trying to help a friend, especially concerning this very dangerous case.

When Castle and Beckett finished unpacking and arranging her stuff in his bedroom, they sat in the couch to get some rest. Castle served them with wine and they sat.

They didn't say anything for a while; they wanted to enjoy the moment. Martha and Alexis had gone out to go shopping so Castle and Beckett were alone.

"Let's forget about it for tonight" – Castle said.

"I can't. It's all over me"

"You can't, but we can"

"I love you so much Rick"

"I love you too"

They laid in the couch, cuddling. All she wanted was to feel free even for some moments and she knew he was the only one who could ever make she feel that way, so she held him tight. He kissed her very deeply; he wanted to show her he was there for her no matter what. Only he knew he didn't have to prove anything. She was decided she would be his woman forever.

She got up and took his hand; her gaze was fixed on his and leaded him towards his bedroom, _they're_ bedroom.

At the alley CSU got prints from the camera and also pieces of the tape that was holding the picture.

"The guy must have held the handrail from the fire escape with one of his hands while placing the photo in the camera; we should look for prints there too" – said Ryan.

"I'll check with the doorman again, maybe he remembers anything related to the night of the murders. I'll check the apartments too specifically this apartment that leads to this fire escape"

Esposito entered the building to talk to the doorman.

"Excuse me, I'm detective Javier Esposito NYPD, I need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place in this alley a couple of nights ago"

"I've already said everything I knew to the lady cop"

"I know, but we had some development in our case and it lead us back to the alley. I just need to ask you if there've been anything unusual there these last days. Anything you might have found odd. Or maybe something you don't think that can actually be useful"

"Okay, I caught this guy trying to climb the fire escape, I said I'd report to the police and he asked me not to do it. He said he only did that because he wanted to have a look over the wall to the other side. I think it's a warehouse in the other side of the alley. Since I didn't find him a bad guy, I just asked him not to do that again and he left"

"Do you think you can describe him?"

"It's been a couple of days, I don't know if I can give you exact information. Hundreds of people come and go through this lobby everyday"

"I understand, but anything you may have seen can be useful to us. A tattoo, a physical disability, a scar, anything"

"I think he had a tattoo in his shoulder. I just don't remember what it was, but I'm pretty sure he had a tattoo. He was cauc, maybe around 30, I'm sorry, that's all I can remember…"

"It's okay. It's a good start. If anything pops you can talk to me or to Detective Ryan. He's outside if you need anything. Meanwhile, do you think I can have a look at the apartment with the exit to that fire escape?"

"Sure, it's apartment 207. The keys are here. You're lucky"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the owner always carries the key with him. But these last days he asked me to safeguard it here, he said that some people were going to ask for the keys and I should let them in"

"Has anybody come?"

"No, he left it 'bout a week ago, but no one ever came. I tried to reach him once, but his cell phone was off."

"I'm gonna need his name, phone, payment methods and anything that can verify his frequency here"

"Sure, while you search his apartment I'll arrange that for you"

"Thank you".

Esposito entered the apartment; it was trashed. Seemed like a hurricane had gone through there and just destroyed everything. Someone must have dropped by and the doorman missed. Everything was indicating that someone wanted to look for something. He went straight to the window leading to the fire escape and found traces of blood. He saw Ryan down there and said:

"Hey bro. you really want to take a look at this. Bring CSU up here".

Ryan got in the lobby and was struggling because he wanted to show the victim's pictures to the doorman again. Maybe he could identify them. Ryan knew the guy had already said he didn't, but who knows.

"Excuse me. I believe Detective Esposito already talked to you"

"Yes he did. You must be Detective Ryan"

"Yes. Do you recognize any of these persons?"

"As a matter of fact I do"

"A couple of nights ago you said you didn't"

"I know I did, but when you asked me for the surveillance videos outside regarding the alley I watched the tape and I saw him standing there. I re-checked some old notes in here and I believe his name is" – the doorman searched between lots of papers inside his cabin – "Rob Smith".

"Did he live here?"

"He didn't. His friend did"

"Who was his friend?"

"This other guy in this picture, he lived here. In fact he lived at the apartment 207. The same room the other Detective is investigating right now"

"Anything else you might remember?"

"Yeah a guy called Cole came here the other night; I know his name because he had to identify himself to get in. He talked with Rob here in the lobby for a couple of minutes, I heard everything. Cole said he needed some files and Rob said he didn't have it, the he asked about the location of his brother but Rob wouldn't say. The conversation was normal, no signs of anger. But one thing I know for sure, Cole was struggling not to explode"

"You have a camera here right? Think I can have the footage of the day?"

"Yes, sure you can. The other Detective asked for information too. When you leave come here again I'll have all prepared for you to take"

"Thank you for your cooperation"

"Oh! When Cole was leaving he also said something like: "Don't forget the sugar" I remember that because I had listened and laughed inside of me, who would tell the other to not forget the sugar out of nowhere"

"Thank you, I'll write it down"

Ryan needed to hurry up, if he confirms what the doorman said then Rob was involved in the conspiracy too, but not on the right side.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

Ryan got in the apartment where Esposito was and saw the mess, he rolled his eyes around the apartment, the place had definitely been trashed, whoever did that was looking for something and apparently didn't find. CSU started to look for prints and collect samples of the blood stain found around the fire escape, while Ryan fed his partner on the news.

"Doorman says he saw Maddox talking with Rob in the lobby, he was asking for some files and apparently for Mr. Smith too. Rob resisted and didn't say anything but the conversation never reached another level. I'll check in the cameras to confirm what the doorman said"

"Great… Something tells me this blood is from one of our victims and that Maddox trashed this place. Do you know who lives here?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot… Ted lived here"

"So it's more likely this is Ted's blood"

"Probably, but we can't affirm that. Could be Rob's"

"Let's wait for the results, meanwhile we should check—"

Esposito stopped and saw something on the ground; he reached for the corner of the window leading to the fire escape and found a bullet case. He looked outside the window to a probably direction where the shot could've taken and said:

"We need to confirm, but I guess this is from a 9mm"

"Probably Maddox tried to shoot one of our victims here, but missed the shot. So the victim climbs down through the fire escape and tries to run, but Maddox is a professional hitman and reaches him first, giving the final shot"

"Yeah could be, let's take this to the lab too to run some tests"

"I'll ask for some uniforms to cover the apartments to see if anyone heard a shot, unless Maddox used a silencer someone must have heard something"

"Good, I'll go down pick up the things we asked with the doorman"

Esposito went down to the lobby and Ryan went to talk to some uniforms to help him cover the apartment and CSU went outside to look for the bullet hole in the wall, that missed bullet hit somewhere in that alley. They started wondering what this would lead them; this case looked like a labyrinth. They felt that every move they made was predicted no matter how strategic they were, but they needed to keep doing that and it was not a question of pride, but loyalty.

Esposito got the things with the doorman and before he left to the Precinct CSU called him to show the bullet they found on the wall, after that they left; Ryan stayed at the building interviewing the neighbors, but found nothing. The silencer theory was more likely to be true so Ryan got back to the Precinct with his fingers crossed for the results on the bullet case, soon it should show led residues indicating the use of the silencer.

It didn't take too much for the results to come. Esposito had asked some urgency in the analysis and as soon as he got it he put them on the murder board. Ryan sat beside Esposito and said:

"So, nothing with the neighbors; no one heard or saw anything unusual, but I have the surveillance tape from the building's lobby, I'll watch it to see if our doorman was telling the truth"

It was still night after Beckett ran with Castle to his bedroom. They fell asleep and when Castle woke up he found nothing but cold sheets on his left side. He wondered if he should stay worried, but he decided to get up anyway and check on his girlfriend, that was sat in the couch, apparently waiting for him because when she looked back and saw him she smiled.

"Why do I have the honors to be welcomed with this smile?"

"Because…"

"Don't say it, let me guess… You want to play Guitar Hero?"

"What? No!"

Beckett looked at him and laughed; she couldn't help but think that he was still that nine year old boy on a sugar rush.

"Then why?"

"I was thinking… all this time Montgomery knew who killed my mother and didn't say anything. Everyone who's been dead probably knew his identity too and no one ever said a word, not even when I pushed really hard to get a name"

Castle had no idea where she was going with this, so he just kept starring at her; nodding for her not to stop talking.

"What if… I'm not supposed to know. I mean could be anyone…"

"You know Beckett, when I first met you I saw in you a determined woman. You became a cop because of your mother, but that was the main reason. I think you felt the need of fixing something that was wrong, like the fact that no one ever caught your mom's killer and even worse they reported as something random when you knew it wasn't and you ended up proving it really wasn't random. All these years you've been working as a detective solving crimes that you… You found yourself able to fix everything, but there are some things you can't fix"

She just stared at him because she knew he was right and a tear trickled down her face. She didn't know if she was ready to let it go, she was afraid that she would let her mother down, but then, she thought, she couldn't let her mom down, because she was dead. As bad as that sounded in her head, she knew it was true and she accepted that.

Meanwhile, at the Precinct Esposito started:

"This is the lab result for the blood stain we found in the apartment. It's not a match in neither of our guys. We're running in our database to see if we can find a match, but so far we hit nothing. Whoever did this didn't want to be found, but we are better".

"I checked the surveillance video from the lobby. The doorman was telling the truth, but there's one thing odd on the video. C'mon, let me show you"

Ryan led Esposito to the room to check the video.

"See this man right there? He enters in the building and goes straight to the elevators… but we know that you need to identify yourself to go in. Now, I thought that he could live there, but his face was too familiar, so I called the doorman and asked him to check on the copy of the video he has there. Turns out this guy doesn't live there and according to the other cameras he went upstairs to apartment 207 and then – Ryan pointed to the screen again and also to the time stamp – 20 minutes later he goes out… The funny thing is that right after he leaves; Maddox ends the conversation with Rob and goes after the guy".

"He had plenty of time to go upstairs, shot Ted and mess up the apartment and went out. When Rob went upstairs and found all the mess he didn't know what to do"

"What about Ted?"

Esposito went to the murder board saying:

"Ted… tried to escape through the fire escape and our John Doe shot him. When Ted disappeared on the fire escape, he thought he had finished the job and left. All the while, Ted was on the fire escape" – A uniform handed a file to Esposito – "Ha! Check this out! The prints on the fire escape are Ted's. We're on the right line here Ryan".

"That's great. So Rob gets in the apartment and finds everything trashed locks everything and tells the doorman someone will show up there".

"Yeah, I bet that the blood stamp belongs to our John Doe. Ryan… what if this man was the one who hired Dick Coonan to kill Johanna and the others. What if he's behind all of this, Maddox is struggling to get the job done and the guy doesn't want to wait, so he goes to Ted's apartment because he knows that Ted is investigating his case, but the file isn't there"

"Ted figured everything out, because he had friends in higher places…"

"Ryan, we have the file let's read it all over again – Esposito looked at his partner and saw him in a trance – Ryan?"

"I knew I had seen him before!" Ryan pointed to the TV.

_Today, Senator William Bracken starts his campaign to run for the Presidency of the United States…_

"Son of a bitch… It's him Ryan!"


	12. Chapter 12

**At this point of the ****case**** I'm crossing paths with the TV Show. I hope you guys don't mind. But the relationships and other peculiarities are still on me. **

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

Gates rapidly came to meet the boys with some new evidence and information.

"Before we do anything we need solid evidence that the Senator is involved in any of the cases linked to Rob's murder. I've finished reading the file, but there was nothing on there that could incriminate the Senator. There is a missing page. Esposito, get Beckett see if she has this page. Ryan, where are you on Maddox?"

"I put his picture everywhere again. If someone spots him we'll know".

Esposito went to his desk and called Beckett.

"Yo, Beckett. Gates finished the file, but there's a missing page. Is this page with you or with Castle?"

"No, Espo, the day we were reading it you guys took everything".

"Ok, thank you".

"Espo, is there anything you're not telling me?"

Esposito didn't want to say what they'd found. First of all because they couldn't prove anything yet although they were sure it was the Senator. And second of all because she would lose again. But that was Beckett; she was like a sister to him. Esposito really tried not to say anything, but he promised that at the end of the day, all of them would meet at Castle's loft to discuss the news and she agreed.

Beckett filled Castle on what Esposito had called and he denied having the page too. But then, it occurred to Castle:

"Beckett, I remember the day we were here with the file and Mr. Smith called. He told me that it was my time to take the next step, he said: _"It's time for the well-placed pawn to make its move"_. This is no coincidence; he said I'm smart. What if he wanted us to go through all the papers, he knew we'd see that there's a missing page. He said he was in great danger, this was his last shot. To give us the file so we could keep you protected".

"This means he was probably blackmailing The Dragon and we can do the same, but what about the missing page?"

"I think I know. Every time I write something to my books I keep a copy in my hard drive. I'm a novelist and I do this, what about a lawyer? Rob and Ted must have kept a copy of the case file. We just have to find out where. I say we start looking for clues on Mr. Smith's apartment, with him dead no one would look there, since Rob and Ted were killed".

Beckett had a plan; she called Ryan and said:

"Hey, Ryan. Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure"

"We are doing some research here to see if we can locate that missing page and Castle remembered he received a phone call from Mr. Smith the night he died. I know we were able to trace the phone call. I need the address".

"Beckett, I can't"

"Please Ryan. I promise everything will be ok. You know me."

"Yes I know you and that's why I can't do this"

"Ryan please; it's my only chance"

"Okay, but don't tell anyone. I don't know what you have in your voice, but it's very persuasive".

"Thanks"

With Mr. Smith's address in hands, Castle and Beckett left and just for precaution Beckett took her Sig with her. They quickly found the apartment and went in.

"Ok, what are we looking for Castle?"

"I don't know. Anything that could help us find the copy of the file".

They looked for hours and nothing, they went through everything in the apartment. Beckett was impatient. Castle didn't seem to stop even thought she asked him several times. They needed to leave the apartment. They were completely without backup and that was a perfect place to something bad happen. But again, Castle didn't stop looking.

"Castle, there's nothing left to find! This page could be anywhere. You're just grasping at straws!"

"Yes! I'm grasping at straws 'cause if that missing page is gone, that means they're coming after you and there's absolutely _nothing_ I can do. So yes, if there's a straw… I'm- I'm grasping."

She could see the desperate look on his face, but they still needed to leave. She forced one more time, but before she could drag him, he opened a new drawer and found some papers. He looked at her almost begging her to wait a little longer. Fortunately it was worth the wait.

"This is a deed to an office in Manhattan. He owns an office in Manhattan. The file has to be there! Let's go".

While Castle and Beckett were investigating on their own, Esposito, Ryan and Gates were stuck in a puzzle. They needed to do something regarding the Senator, but any move they made could damage his image which in that situation was not a good idea. They needed to prove that he was involved somehow. But they needed the missing page to do so. That's when Ryan got a call from Beckett.

"Smith owns an office on the east side of Manhattan; we are heading there to see if we can find the missing page".

Ryan nodded to Esposito and they went to the break room to share the news with him. Ryan didn't want Gates to know Beckett and Castle were investigating on their own.

"Mr. Smith must have hidden that page from the file. He knew that Maddox had big chances to get the file and he wanted to make sure he wouldn't have the most compromising part"

"Yes, but if Castle is looking for a copy, than it means Maddox is on this too. There's no way Maddox would miss this".

"Which means that Castle and Beckett are in danger. Let's go after them, they need backup. If anything turns out wrong we make our move".

Everything was quiet at the building in Manhattan, something pretty odd since it was business time, but Castle and Beckett didn't seem to mind, at the entrance of the building they found the mail lockers, and written in one of them there was Mr. Smith's name.

"Apartment 332. Are you ready?" – Castle asked.

"You kidding me right? I've been ready for the past 13 years".

They slowly approached apartment 332, but they heard noises so Beckett pulled her Sig and stood in position. She nodded Castle to open the door on her mark. The door was half open so Castle opened the door very slowly while Beckett made her entrance. She saw a man sitting on the floor and she had no doubt that was Maddox.

Maddox realized Beckett's approach and said without looking:

"You don't seem to fear your closeness to death, right Detective?"

Beckett ignored that comment and said:

"Don't move. Don't even breathe. It's over Maddox. Give up".

"Hand the file" – Castle said.

"As you wish" – Maddox replied.

In a fast movement Maddox reached for a gun and turned, at the same moment a shot came from behind them, hitting Maddox. In their formation, Ryan and Esposito entered the room and immobilized him. Castle quickly went after the file and got scared when he saw little pieces of paper on the safe. The file was gone.


End file.
